


I Am Machine

by AwakeAndAliveSpartan



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Android! AU, Androids/LMDs are commonplace, Deus Ex-esque, F/M, Future Fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-16
Updated: 2017-04-30
Packaged: 2018-10-19 10:30:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,418
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10638033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AwakeAndAliveSpartan/pseuds/AwakeAndAliveSpartan
Summary: In a world where androids and mechanically-enhanced people are commonplace, it's only a matter of time before disaster strikes. And when a worldwide catastrophe does strike, one man, well, android is stuck right in the middle of an oncoming civil war.It's time for Grant Ward to learn if he's more human than machine.





	1. You Can't Kill Progress

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Six years later.

(One Month Ago, May 2023)

“You know, I just don’t get it.”

Skye looked up and frowned, unsure of what Grant was talking about, “Huh?”

Grant sighed and pointed at the TV that was on in their room, which was showing some kind of news report, “I’m talking about  _ that _ .” he stated. “Why would anyone actually  _ want _ to become an android? It doesn’t make sense.”

_ ‘The rate of human-to-android procedures is quickly on the rise. The procedure, just being introduced about four years ago by the biotech company BioStar, was first introduced as a ‘cure’ for those with chronic ailments wishing to start a new life. The procedure makes a digital replication of a patient’s brain and consciousness and uploads it to a robotic frame that is designed to look just like them.  _

_ But despite being originally intended for medical use, the procedure is gaining popularity with the well-bodied for various reasons. There are even small companies looking to sell so-called ‘upgrades’ to the androids that give them a variety of abilities. _

_ It is estimated that around 90 or so people a day around the world undergo this life-changing procedure.” _

Skye shook her head, “You know, a lot of people do that because they’re sick or have some kind of injury, Grant.” she stated. “That’s their only chance at a new life. Have you forgotten that you’re one, too?” she asked. “I mean, you  _ did  _ die.”

Grant narrowed his eyes at her, but she was telling the truth. He had gotten himself killed while trying to help Skye and the others get out of the Framework, but Skye had somehow managed to get his dying consciousness uploaded into a LMD frame to save him. In all reality, he could be considered one of the first androids. 

“That’s not what I meant, I mean the healthy people that are giving everything up to become robotic.” he stressed, turning the TV off and throwing the remote aside. “They’re turning themselves into weapons and it’s gonna backfire one day. And those upgrades… I don’t like them. Why would someone want the ability to have a sword form from their arm? It doesn’t make sense. You don’t see me trying to get a machine gun attached to my shoulder or something.”

A smile pulled at Skye’s lips as she turned over in the bed to face him, “Hey, to be honest, you’d look pretty cool like that.”

Grant shied away and Skye knew that if he could blush, he’d be doing it big time right now. Even though he mostly passed as human, there were some things that were missing. 

“It’d be a waste.” he stated, trying to steady himself. “And besides, I don’t think that tech would be compatible with the tech inside of me. I  _ am  _ the most human-passing robot there is. Hell, I don’t even have to register myself as an android. Those chip mark things look ridiculous.”

Well, he did tell the truth. The LMD frame he had been uploaded into had been created by AIDA with help of the Darkhold. It had been designed to be as close to human as possible. So Grant still had a heartbeat, he had pseudo-biological processes, he had almost everything a human had. Hell, he could even eat and process food. 

There were some drawbacks, though. His emotions didn’t process quite right sometimes and he would appear emotionless. Even though AIDA had tried to create the ultimate android, human emotions were still a little too complex for the bio-technological machinery that kept Grant going.

If anything, he was just an artificial human with a heart of gold.

Skye smiled, “Well, then you’re the best robot that has ever existed, Tin Man.” she joked, poking him in his firm chest. Even his skin felt  _ real _ . “Don’t you ever forget that.”

He smiled back and shied away again, “Aw, come on, Skye, you know that I’m not  _ that  _ great.” he said lightly, reaching out and draping an arm over her to pull her close. “I may be a better man than the original me, but that doesn’t mean that I’m the greatest person ever. I  _ was  _ Hydra until I finally figured out that you were way more important.”

“But you changed though, right?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Then you’re a good guy now. Now hush, we need to sleep. We’ve got an early mission in the morning, remember?” She yawned and nuzzled into his chest. “You don’t need to be grumpy.”

“I don’t get grumpy.”

“Yes, you do.”

Grant rolled his eyes, even though Skye couldn’t see him do so, “Whatever. Good night.”

“Mmm, night.”

 

(The Next Morning)

Grant and Skye came out of their room to a very, very frantic scene. Agents rushed all around as though something terrible had happened and that they had no idea of where to go.

“What the hell?” Skye asked. “What did we miss?”

Grant raised an eyebrow, “I dunno, you’d think that someone would’ve woken us up. Something had to happen, the base isn’t this hectic at 6 in the morning.” He sighed and took her hand, “Let’s go find Coulson and see what’s going on. If we can’t find him, maybe at least someone can tell us what the hell is going on.”

The two made their way through the base, avoiding the rush of agents from all around them. Grant had a really, really bad feeling that something was terribly wrong and he knew that he was going to hate whatever that they found out.

_ “I don’t get it. Why hasn’t no one come to get us? We’re two of the highest-ranked agents here, why leave us out?”  _ Grant thought, keeping Skye close to his side.  _ “What could’ve possibly happen?” _

The two agents eventually made their way into the briefing room, where of which they found Fitzsimmons and Mack. Grant frowned as he noticed something akin to fear flash in their eyes as they saw him. They hadn’t looked at him like that in six years.

“What the hell is going on?” Skye asked for the both of them. “Why is everyone in a panic?”

“Oh, good. It seems as though the glitch didn’t affect you.” Fitz began, standing to his feet and looking towards Grant. “But I should’ve figured so since your technology is completely different than those in the current android models.”

Grant’s face fell, “ _ What _ ?” he asked, scratching at the back of his head. “What the hell are you talking about? What happened?”

Mack took a breath and stood to his feet, deciding that he should be the one to try and explain the ongoing situation. “Some kind of glitch or hack affected most of the android population about two hours ago.” he began slowly, trying not to show his panic. “It sent them into some kind of violent frenzy. So far, about twenty-five hundred people have died and who knows how many have gotten hurt. It’s bad.”

“Then why didn’t anyone come get us?!” Grant growled, stepping forward and causing Mack to step back in fear. “Don’t you think that we would want to know?!”

“It’s been hectic, Ward. And I think everyone was afraid that you had gone berserk as well, even though Fitz was sure that you weren’t affected.” Mack explained, watching as Skye gave Grant’s hand a light squeeze to try and calm him down. “It was better to leave you alone.”

Grant’s face fell as he realized what Mack had meant. Everyone was afraid of him now because of something that hadn’t even affected him. Over two-thousand people were dead and Grant knew that things were going to get bad. Really bad. There would be riots. There would be calls for restrictions on androids and mechanically-enhanced people. Even more people would die.

And he knew that he was going to get the short end of the stick in all of this mess. 

All because technology laced his veins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know that there isn't a whole lot of backstory with this, but just trust me. I'll keep elaborating on things as the story goes. But here's a few points. One, I'm going off of the theory that AIDA was trying to build herself some kind of ultimate body with the Darkhold that could pass as human. Two, Skye downloaded Framework Grant's consciousness into said body. Three, the LMD technology somehow got into someone else's hands and it was made public. Four, if you want to have an idea of the vibe of this fic, Deus Ex Human Revolution and Mankind Divided are the inspirations. I really hope that you enjoy and please leave a comment or a kudos!


	2. Mankind Divided

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> One month later.

(Current Time, June 2023)

“There was _another_ victim?”

Coulson nodded sadly as he looked at Grant and Skye, whom of which sat in the chairs in front of his desk, “Unfortunately, there was.” he began. “We,”

“What happened this time?” Grant cut in, a strange light glowing deep within his eyes. He leaned back in the chair and stared up at the ceiling, waiting for Coulson’s response.

“This morning San Francisco police contacted us after investigating a call about a shooting. When they got to the scene of the crime, they found this.” Coulson paused as he pulled up a series of files on his tablet and handed it over to Grant. “They found this man, Adrian Bernard, shot point-blank in the head and left to die in the middle of an alleyway.”

Grant grimaced as he shuffled through the crime scene photos, all showing the victim like how the police had found him. The man looked fairly young, probably his early twenties. But the gunshot wound to the head wasn’t the most unsettling part of the scene.

“What happened to his arm?” Skye asked, leaning over so she could see the pictures herself. She looked back to Coulson as she noticed that the victim’s arm was nothing but a tangle of smashed-up metal, “It’s clear that he was one of the mechanically-augmented, but what the hell happened to his arm?”

“We’re not quite sure of what really happened just yet.” Coulson began, watching as Grant’s eyes scanned the photographs again. “But we think whoever shot Bernard took a sledgehammer to his mechanical prosthetic.”

Grant grimaced as he thought of the possible scene that had unfolded. He couldn’t stomach the thought that someone had gone up to a complete stranger and had shot them point-blank in the head all because they had a metal arm. And to think that the perpetrator had the audacity to smash apart the poor man’s arm. It was clear that this murder was a message, just like all the rest that had happened since the Glitch.

Any of the mechanically-augmented wouldn’t be tolerated.

“Guess you can go ahead and mark this as another Glitch hate crime.” Grant muttered, placing the tablet on Coulson’s desk. “How many does that mark for this week?”

“So far? Six, and it’s only Wednesday.” Coulson answered quietly, knowing that this was a tender subject for the android. “The deaths are ramping up by the week. More and more people are thinking it’s their duty to get rid of the augmented after the Glitch. It’s like the Watchdogs all over again.”

“But even worse.” Grant muttered, leaning back again. “People are more afraid of the augmented than they ever were of the Inhumans.” he stated, casting a quick glance over to Skye. “The Glitch was an accident, turned innocent people into crazed murders for like five minutes. Now everyone thinks that they’re all monsters because of something that they couldn’t help. The real monster is whoever hacked their programming and set off the Glitch.”

Coulson nodded slowly, “I know that, but it’s been a month and we’ve been unable to even figure out _how_ the programming was hacked. We’ve been working with BioStar and their defenses are practically impenetrable.”

“Yeah, they are.” Skye agreed with a small nod of her head. “Even I tried to get past their firewalls and I couldn’t do anything. Whoever it was must be a super hacker or they had prior knowledge of the programming. Like someone from the inside.”

“We’ve thought of that as well, but we still don’t even have a starting point for that either.”

Grant swallowed and stood to his feet, “Then you better find this guy as fast as possible. If he hacked the augmented once, there’s nothing stopping him, or her, from doing it again. There could be another Glitch just around the corner.”

Skye’s face fell, “Grant,” she warned. “Where are you going with this?”

“Look, I don’t want to sit back and do nothing when innocent people are getting killed for no reason other than they’re part machine!” Grant snapped, running his hands through his hair. “And I especially don’t want to do nothing and have another two thousand people die!”

Skye frowned as she could’ve sworn that a red light had flickered in Grant’s eyes, a telltale sign of the machinery inside of him. She realized why he was doing this, though. Grant had been pretty much as close to being depressed as an android could get ever since the Glitch. And all because the Glitch hadn’t affected him.

Survivor’s guilt. That’s what Skye thought Grant had. Thousands of the mechanically-augmented had been affected by the Glitch and had been driven insane for a short amount of time. All while Grant had been sound asleep right next to her.

“Grant,”

“It should’ve affected me, Skye!” Grant yelled, turning around to face her with a saddened look on his face. “But no, I was fucking asleep! Almost every single augmented and android was controlled by that hack while I was comfortable in bed!”

“Ward,” Coulson began, standing to his feet. “I realize that you’re depressed because of what happened, but you should be glad that it didn’t affect you. There’s no telling what could’ve happened if the Glitch had controlled you. You’re powerful. AIDA intended the android frame we put you in to be the ultimate body. You could’ve killed dozens of agents with ease. The fact that your technology is different from the other androids and such.” He paused and sighed, “This base could’ve been another catastrophe, like the rest of the world was. Don’t go wishing such things on yourself. Be glad that you’re okay.”

Grant fell silent and turned away from both Coulson and Skye. He felt guilty because he was still okay. He felt guilty because he hadn’t gone crazy and killed someone. He just felt like at least _something_ should’ve happened to him. But he had to be some kind of ultimate android and had to be invincible to something that had caused so many to suffer.

 He clenched his fists and took a deep breath, “I feel like I’m cheating somehow. Everyone else like me is either being killed, hurt, or put through shit because of what happened.” he stated quietly. “I thought that being human-passing would be a good thing, but I’m not so sure anymore.” He ran a hand over his stubble-covered chin, “I’m just a fake. I’m neither human _or_ robot. I… I don’t even know what I am anymore.”

Skye’s heart lurched as she stood and started to walk towards him. She placed a hand on his shoulder, “Grant, sweetheart, don’t do this to yourself. You’re not a fake. You may not be exactly either a human or an android, but that doesn’t make you a fake. It just makes you special. It’s what makes you Grant Ward. Not everyone has to follow some kind of perfect label. So what if you’re technically a human and an android? That doesn’t mean a single damn thing to me and the team.”

A small smile pulled at Grant’s lips as he turned to face her. He reached out with his arms and drew her close to his body. “Thank you.” he muttered. “But I still feel like I’m cheating somehow. I don’t even have to register myself as an android like all the rest. That has to be cheating somehow.”

Coulson’s face fell as Grant’s statement reminded him of the news that he had received this morning. “Grant, about that.” he began. “That might change.”

Grant looked up and frowned, “What… What do you mean?” he asked, his voice barely a croak. Even though he felt like not registering was cheating, he was still glad that he didn’t have to do so. At least he could go around public without anyone else knowing that he was an android. He didn’t want to have a garish ID chip implanted in his head. Especially since it caused a hexagonal depression on the forehead, a clear sign of one being an android.

“The UN is wanting to ramp up android and augmented regulations to ensure ‘safety’, whatever the hell that means now.” Coulson began to explain lightly. “They’re enforcing the registration of all androids now. That means if anyone else in the government finds out you’re an android, they’ll force you to be registered and I’ll get in trouble for ‘hiding’ you. You may be human-passing, but a lot of agents in this base know that you’re not human. And people are going to get suspicious of you because of your strength and speed. You may have to register sooner or later.”

Grant looked away, unsure of what to say. He didn’t want to register because that would only bring him ridicule and blame. It could even get him killed because of the anti-augmented. Even though he had survivor’s guilt and knew he should’ve suffered in some way, he didn’t want to face that kind of prejudice. No one ever should.

“T-Then I’ll be careful.” he stammered, pulling Skye close to his body again. “I’ll act human. I’ll tone down my strength. I’ll,”

“Grant, if it comes down to it, it’s best that you do so.” Coulson stated firmly, sadness lacing his voice. “If you refuse, you’ll be shipped off somewhere or even killed. And they’ll make sure that we can’t upload your consciousness into another frame.”

“I… I just want to be normal for once. I don’t want registration. I don’t want any of this. Hell, I don’t even want to be a robot. I’m just code that’s been brought to life and been given a chance.

But the world’s not going to let me have what I want. Not anymore.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And you can see that this is heavily influenced by Deus Ex Mankind Divided (which is one of my all time favorite games). So the story's taken a much darker tone than the first chapter had and Grant's suffering all because he wasn't affected by the Glitch. Let's just hope that his pain doesn't affect him in a bad way. Keep the comments and kudos coming!


	3. Set Me on Fire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grant has a run in with another agent before a mission.

(Two Days Later)

“Once Agents Ward and Johnson go in, the other strike teams will surround the building and will head in once the target in down. They’ll sweep the building for any remaining assailants, possible weaponry such as explosives, and any other items of interest. Overall, it should be a simple smash and grab. But it doesn’t help that the target is one of those android extremists that have their body upgraded with the best tech available. So, caution is advised.”

 Grant lazily nodded as the mission leader finished up the briefing. Honestly, it was just another ordinary mission. He and Skye had been sent on several like these since the Glitch last month. Android and augmented extremists had made the Glitch an excuse to terrorize the normal world. They thought that the Glitch was a show of power of what the mechanically-augmented could possibly be if the rest of the world didn’t restrict them. But Grant just thought they were nothing but a bunch of trigger-happy psychopaths that needed to be behind bars somewhere. He was already tired of being the cleaning crew for them.

Once the mission leader had dismissed them and told them all to meet in the hangar in thirty minutes, Grant turned towards Skye, whom of which was standing right beside him already in her tac gear. “Doesn’t sound too hard.” he commented with a smirk. “Just your average bucket of bolts.”

Skye rolled her eyes, “You tend to forget that you’re technically a bucket of bolts as well.” she stated, shaking her head.

“But I have a heartbeat, though.” Grant replied, tenderly touching his chest. “So I’m not _entirely_ made up of bolts. I’m still different than your average android.”

“Artificial human. Whatever.” she retorted, giving him a playful punch on his shoulder. “You still are technically computer programming that was given a synthetic body.”

“But the best damn programming out there.”

“Don’t get so full of yourself, especially when we’re about to leave on a mission.”

Grant snorted, “It’s how I hype myself up. Makes me feel better when I know that at least one person on that damn jet is going to make some snide remark about what I am.” he stated, his tone growing cold.

“Grant,”

“Look, it’s the truth. I kind of wish that most people on this damn base didn’t know what I really am. It was bad enough before the Glitch. I had it bad for _six years._ Now it’s even worse because everyone else is expecting me to flip out on them and kill them. But, honestly, it’s the other way around. I fear that someone’s going to try to kill me one of these days.” he explained, gently reaching for her hand as they left the briefing room. “I always have to carry a gun with me so I can be prepared.”

“Grant, everyone knows not to mess with you. Coulson’s made that clear.” Skye answered lightly. She sighed and stopped to look at him. “You’ll be fine. No one’s going to try and kill you. They know that you’re a good person. They know that you wouldn’t lay a finger on anyone else unless they struck first.”

Grant smiled slightly and nodded, “Yeah, you’re right. I’m just getting ahead of myself. Hell, I’ll end up worrying myself to death before anyone actually tries anything.” He sighed and leaned down to kiss the top of Skye’s head, “Look, go ahead to the hangar and get the rest of your gear. I’m gonna to run back to the room to put my tac gear on. It won’t take me more than ten minutes.”

“Alright, Robot, see ya’ in a bit.”

He smiled again and left the room, heading back down the twisting hallways towards their room. Honestly, he believed that this would be a fairly short mission. He and Skye would go in, take down the target, then the other strike teams would descend on the base. The extremists were more bark than bite most of the time, so those missions were fairly simple and relatively short.

He just didn’t know why Coulson and the other higher-ups loved to send him and Skye on those kind of missions. They were one of SHIELD’s best two-man strike teams, so they should’ve been doing more than simple elimination missions. But then again, elimination missions were so common these days, so there really wasn’t much else to do. There were so many extremists to deal with, and it didn’t matter if they were human, Inhuman, or mechanically-augmented. They were just all targets that needed to be dealt with.

Grant sighed as he slipped into the room and went to take out his tac gear. He honestly just wanted to stay here and spend some quality time with Skye. They hadn’t had much time to themselves since the Glitch. They had been back and forth on missions for the past month; Grant just wanted a chance to rest for once. But he knew that they weren’t going to get peace for a while now.

Throwing aside his normal clothes, Grant slipped on his tac gear. He stored most of it in the room, but its armor pieces were in the armory. So he would have to go by there on the way to the hangar to get them and his guns. Well, the guns that he didn’t keep on him or in the room, which was only his sniper rifle and his assault rifle. He had no need to keep such big guns in the room, so he kept them in the armory. And besides, he was more fond of his handguns anyways. But it didn’t hurt to have more firepower from time to time, especially when it came to dealing with another android.

Once he had his tac gear and his handguns in place, Grant headed back out of the room and towards the hangar. He made a quick stop at the armory to get his chest pieces, the various tech that he carried around in it, and his assault rifle. He strapped the rifle to his back and headed back towards the hangar.

Well, until he was stopped by another agent.

“Aren’t you one of those _things_?”

Grant’s face hardened and he frowned, “Excuse me?” he asked. “Who the hell are you?”

“I said, aren’t you one of those things?” the agent repeated, clearly disgusted by Grant’s presence.

“If you’re asking if I’m an android or not, then yes. But I am not a ‘thing’. I’m still a person.” Grant deadpanned, crossing his arms over his broad chest. Didn’t the agent realize that he was heavily armed with about three guns, a combat knife, and various other gadgets? Probably not. Grant assumed that this guy was completely oblivious.

“You _things_ are not people.” the agent hissed, pointing a finger in Grant’s direction. “You stopped being people once you decided that you wanted to have a robotic frame.”

“One,” Grant began, his lips beginning to curl into a snarl. “I didn’t ask for this. I was dying and the Director’s team decided to upload me into a frame. I had no say in this. Two, I am different from the rest. I have a heartbeat. I can eat. I can feel. My body may be different, but that doesn’t make me any less human than anyone else.” He leaned in close towards the agent, hoping that he could scare him off. “I am not a thing. I am still a person.”

“No, you’re all monsters.”

Grant growled and grabbed the agent by his collar, hoisting him up into the air, “The real monsters are the ones who think it’s okay to act like this towards others just because they are different. The Glitch was an accident. The augmented were _victims_.” He took a breath and sat the agent back down, shoving past him, “And besides, it didn’t even affect me. So don’t go lumping me in with the rest. I don’t like to be reminded that I should’ve suffered alongside everyone else like me. I know I should be suffering like how they are now, but I should consider myself lucky that the Glitch spared me.”

He left the agent standing all alone in that hallway.

 _“God, why can’t they get a clue? There’s no reason to hate me. The Glitch didn’t even do anything to me other than remind me that I’m different. I know that I’m not human, but I don’t need someone reminding me every single damn chance they get.”_ Grant thought angrily as he stormed into the hangar. _“No one could help what happened. It’s not fair that they’re now in such a bad light now._

_We don’t deserve that. We’re not the monsters. And maybe I can make the world see that one day.”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the wait on this, but I had exams all last week. And I'm not sure if I want to continue this or not. It hasn't gotten all that much reception, so I'm starting to lose motivation with it. So I might try to keep this going, but I'm not so sure. Keep the comments and kudos coming!

**Author's Note:**

> Just another really strange idea that I had! Find me on Tumblr @gears-of-ward!


End file.
